March 24, 2026 – Durham, North Carolina – Vulcan Elements and Ucore Rare Materials have executed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ucore Rare Metals to collaborate on the development of an American domestic rare earth magnet supply chain for defense and commercial applications. Under the agreement, the parties intend to finalize a full commercial supply partnership whereby Ucore would supply Vulcan with NdPr oxide and Dy oxides at commercial scale beginning in 2027. The move comes only a few months after Vulcan forged a $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S, government and ReElement Technologies to scale Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies’ vertically-integrated, domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.
The collaboration with Ucore aligns Vulcan’s magnet manufacturing process with a proven domestic supplier of rare earth materials. Vulcan currently operates a startup commercial magnet manufacturing facility in Durham, North Carolina, and now will be expanding to a 10,000 ton magnet manufacturing facility in Benson, North Carolina.
The facility is enabled by a $1.4 billion partnership with the United States Government, including the Department of War and the Department of Commerce. In May 2025, Ucore announced an $18.4 million award by the Department of War to develop its rare earth processing capabilities in Louisiana. Ucore intends to make a portion of its Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex capacity available to Vulcan beginning in 2027.
“Since its inception, Vulcan Elements’ mission has been to build a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain that can propel America into the 21st century and enable the next era of innovation and national security,” stated John Maslin CEO. Vulcan’s partnership with Ucore is a milestone for both companies, and for the United States of America. Together, we’re rebuilding a core industry that is critical for economic growth and national security.”
“Vulcan is building exactly the kind of downstream magnet platform that the United States needs, and this partnership creates a winning commercial partnership that aligns Ucore’s separation capability with an industry-leading U.S. manufacturer,” commented Pat Ryan CEO of Ucore. “Our collaboration will anchor a resilient allied rare earth magnet supply chain in the United States.”
This year, Vulcan and Ucore intend to advance initial production, testing protocols, purity targets, acceptance criteria, and other technical specifications in support of Vulcan’s magnet manufacturing capability—leading to a longer-term commercial supply agreement.
In November, Vulcan Elements established the $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S. government and ReElement Technologies to scale Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies’100% vertically-integrated, domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.
Key features of the partnership include:
- Vulcan Elements will build, commission and operate a 10,000 metric ton magnet facility in the U.S.
- Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies will scale their vertically-integrated, domestic magnet supply chain, which is already operating today, to enable 10,000 tons of annual magnet production—with a focus on recycling end-of-life magnets and electronic waste.
- Vulcan Elements’ expansion to 10,000 tons of production capacity will be financed by a $620 million Direct Loan from the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital, $50 million of federal incentives from the Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act, and $550 million in private capital.
- ReElement Technologies’ expansion of its recycling and processing capabilities will be financed by an $80 million Direct Loan from the Office of Strategic Capital, matched by private capital.
- The Department of War will receive warrants in both Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies. The Department of Commerce will receive $50 million of equity in Vulcan Elements.
See previous reports on each of the companies in Magnetics Magazine. For more info, see www.vulcanelements.com, www.ucore.com, www.reelementtech.com.
